Believe And Budget
Money Talk with The Maloneys
5 Reasons To Have a Baby Fund
We have two dogs right now, Gemma and Harbor, who were in our wedding. I love these two with all my heart, but they do cost money. With vet bills, shots, food, toys, and treats it all adds up and is in our budget each month and we figure kids are going to be an additional cost as well. Lets start with the 5 Reasons to have a Baby Fund.
1. It is motivation for my Husband to Save.
2. New outlooks on life
3. Leaving a Legacy
4. It is not all about us anymore.
5. We are a planner.
We officially saved up our goal of $10,000 for baby Maloney!!
Due January 29 2020.
The baby has been a blessing to be honest. I prayed a lot on God to show up and show us where we were going to find the 10k before January. We gave our normal plus a little more after the wedding and for the wedding. We paid for all of our groommens tuxes because it was my gift to the boys as a bride.
We went on our honeymoon and traveled back thru the 5 states little did we know we were going to have a baby sooner than we expected. Sometime God has a plan that over rules our own.
We found out we were having Baby Maloney end of June.
I created the little piggy bank to surprise my husband we were having a baby!! Super easy and cheap!! Stickers and piggy bank from hobby lobby with a 20% off coupon = under $15.00
He was well…surprised!!! 😄
Now to how we saved…
Since we are living tiny; we asked for our wedding no gifts but only monetary gifts. This contributed to a big amount of the baby fund and started Tom’s love for saving!
The rest we were blessed with…we did not tell anyone yet we were pregnant and Toms mom called us saying her and dad wanted to give a huge gift! We were not expecting this and we were able to fully fund our baby fund with these two instances.
It really shows God at work when you GIVE God gives back to you double!!
Proverbs 3:9 – 10
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.
We are continuing to put into our baby fund savings even though we have hit our goal.
Why?
Babies are expensive and we want to be overly prepared instead of under prepared.
We annouced the love to our family and friends that we were pragnant July 4th 2019 with this cute photo with us and the doggies.
Don’t worry…the dogs are happy…just sick of how many time they got told to look at the camera for our 50th photo. 😂😂
The happiness from them was probably because we let them on the couch for the first time! Otherwise they aren’t allow on the couch because its leather.
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5 Intelligent Reasons You Need To Be Investing!
This post may contain affiliate links, and they are no cost to you!
Ever dream of something so big, but do not know how in the world you are going to get it? What if I told you that if you start investing today, you might not have to work in the future. I can tell you with these 5 ways to start investing you can! Work now and play later instead of playing now and working later. Come join us and find out how!
1. It is never too late to start
My friend, let me tell you a secret. It is never too late to start investing. You are worthy and need to build your wealth. There are so many apps to make it easy for you to start.
If your a spender, a lot of people use acorn app. You can link your card and it rounds up every purchase to the next dollar.
If you are a spender and want to be a saver, try to use Betterment app. It is an app that is perfect for beginners. It allows you to select your risk and start with little to nothing. Plus if you use our code you get $5,000 of your investment balance free for a year.
If you are a saver, I still recommend Betterment. It has low fees. It gives you a peace of mind. It follows the market closely to get you a good return.
2. Start with little money
Most investment accounts allow you to invest with little money. Because honestly most people do not have a lot of money on hand. When I worked at a bank, I saw it day in and day out! Most people only have a max of $100 in their checking unless its payday!
I have seen so many people start with just $25 a month and work there way up to $25 per week and then increase it to $200 a month to $200 a week! Don’t miss out! Get investing today!
3. It is self care
Our society is so big on self care. And looking out for your future is self care.
You need someone to help you budget. We have you covered! We would love to encourage you. Guide you and inspire you. Please let us help you budget. It is a gift of ours and we want to share our gift with you. Sign up for your self care 1 on 1 remote budgeting session with me!
Personally, we love a new month of budgets. The dreams we get to make and then make them reality. Ah I love it!
Last year, our selfcare was traveling every month and we created it in our budget!
Another one, for me was to be debt free and I created that one to be true! Thanks to God for helping me!
This year, we are going to be debt free as a married couple! We are going to reach new levels of our networth growth too!
4. You’ll see a return
Yes, when you invest you will see a return on your investment if you stay in it and do not get out! You have to stay in it the long haul.
2020 was a scary year for many people with their investment, but not for us. We grew our investment even more this year than ever because we stayed calm during the storm.
You will see a positive return if you are choosing the right investments too. We use Betterment because they give us great returns and its very hands off. I personally do not invest in many single stocks or bonds. Not my thing. Investing should be easy not difficult.
Other Articles you will enjoy:
- How to Take Advantage of your Employers Benefits
- 4 Step Process To Create A Financially Stable Journey
- How to Get a FREE flight to go home to see Family
5. God gives more to those who invest
Yes, I will prove it to you. Investing is planning for your future.
Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? -Luke 14:28
In Luke, it is so good because he is talking about a plan. You must plan before you do it. Yes, plan your investments to receive more and more.
A wise man thinks ahead; a fool doesn’t, and even brags about it! Proverbs 13:16
People who invest think ahead and they are wise. Those who do not invest aren’t planning for their future but waiting for it to just happen. They are bragging about the new clothes they got or the new car they got on credit, or even the bigger and better next in thing.
Please, my friend, stop,and think about it.
You want to start investing. Even if its a little bit. Start today let me show you how in a 1 on 1 remote coaching session. I would love to help you get started!
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How to Invest in your Health Savings Account?
This post may contain affiliate links, and they are no cost to you!
Ever wonder how you are going to afford retirement homes or living care when you are older? Did you know that the cost of retirement homes are an average of $70,000 – $100,000 annual! I know you are thinking what I am thinking, and how are we suppose to afford that at the rate of inflation going. You know you can start investing in your health savings account (HSA), and we want to help you learn how! There are no income limits, and the maximum contribution for 2023 is $3,850 for single and $7,750 for family coverage.
1. Enroll in a High Deductible Health Plan
Enroll in a high deductible health plan if this is right for you and your family. You will be able to find this out by thinking about medical expenses you plan on having for the year. Questions to ask yourself.
- Are you having a baby?
- Are you healthy?
- Are you a diabetic?
- Are you going to need more care this year?
- Are you going to set up a major surgery this year?
If you are healthy, you might choose a High Deductible health plan with the bigger employer incentive to receive the bigger bang for your buck, but realize you are going to pay a larger amount at the doctor’s office with your higher deductible and out of pocket. You are willing to take the risk.
If you are having a baby, you might choose a high deductible health plan that you do not receive as much of an incentive from your employer, but you can afford the out of pocket that comes with the insurance.
If you are needing more doctor care, you might choose the lowest out of pocket since you know you will reach it easily. But you must also look at your monthly premium to ensure it works within your budget too.
2. Open a Health Saving Account (HSA)
Sign up for your health account. You will receive an email or a mailer to sign up for the employer’s health savings account if you enrolled in the high deductible health plan.
Go ahead and follow their instructions. Usually it is only a few steps and it is just like signing up for a bank account.
3. Deposit Money into your HSA
This is where you can win more with your dollars. Most of the time you will deposit money straight from your paycheck to your health savings account. You will not even see this money hit your personal bank account. I always recommend doing this especially if you are not a saver!
I remember when I raised my husband’s when we first got married. He did not notice at all until four paychecks in and he was like why are my checks so low? I need to look at my paystub. (Don’t worry you guys – I told him I increased our savings before I did it, but I may have forgot to mention that it would be coming from his direct paycheck)
4. Research your Employer and their contribution
This is free money that you are able to get from your employer, and did you know they actually account for it as your salary when coming up with your real salary. They take this into account when they are giving you your monthly salary because it is the total benefit you are receiving. (So if you are not taking full advantage of ALL your employers benefits –you should be!) Call your Human Resources – they are not all scary. I am an expert in this area – I worked in this for over 2 years helping people receive their full benefit from their salary to their money incentives such as 401k and wellness.
5. Research if you need to do a health exam or other activity to receive free money
This is free money too. If you did not read number 4 and you skipped it, go back to it. I explain why you want to take full advantage of this one too.
It can range usually from $100 – $1000 of free money here.
6. Take advantage of your triple tax savings
We want you to save your hard earn cash from uncle sam and this is how.
You do not pay taxes on the money when you put it in.
You do not pay taxes on the money when it grows.
You do not pay taxes on when you use it for qualified expenses.
Hence why there is a government limit each year. They want you to take advantage of it, but they do not want it to be too much.
You could make your taxable income from $75,000 to $71,400 with just saving your money in an Health Saving Account. This means the government will only tax you on $71,400 instead of the true $75,000 you made!
This is AMAZING right? I know, so keep going and I will show you exactly how to invest it too.
More articles you will enjoy:
- 5 Reasons Why to Invest
- 102 Ideas to Grow your Net Worth
- Our Story from 2020 and 7 Lessons You Can Learn From
7. Keep the minimum amount in your regular HSA account
The minimum amount in your HSA will vary upon account. Our HSA minimum cash balance is $1,000, therefore we keep $1,000 in our cash account of our health savings account. This is what I call my emergency medical account. If we were to go to the ER or something really bad happen and we did not have the money for it, it would come out of this account.
8. Invest the rest of your money in your HSA
Just like your retirement account or your 401k account or whatever account you invest in. You will be able to choose a fund to put your money in depending on your companies investments. This is where your HR of benefits really come to work. They are the ones hard at work trying to get the best for you guys to keep you working at the company.
Investing in an HSA, you will usually have different mutual funds or target date funds. These are low cost, but high yields of returns.
You will choose how much you want your portfolio to be and go from there.
Our health savings account is with Bank of America and I will provide you additional screenshots on how to invest with Bank of America if you have a Health Savings Account with them too!
Hope this helps you deep dive and invest in your triple tax savings account called a health savings account. We will be trying to use our for big expense and especially for when we become old. Because did you know that at home nursing care can cost right now minimum of $13,000 and minimum at a nursing home is $7,000 in Nebraska. Think of that just for your rent, room, board, food, and care – that is insane. We are talking $156,000 a year minimum! Wooohoo – we better all do some more saving.
Like if you are going to invest your health savings account now or you already started.
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The Bag Lunch Budgeter.
Baby cost are high and well all costs are up high — we had to learn to save up for Baby Maloney back in 2019 and fast. We had to figure a way to cut cost and quickly to save the $10,000. Instead of buying lunch after lunch, we made bagged lunches cool for both my husband and I to take to work. You might be thinking in 2022, I need to figure out a way to save money on my food costs. Do you break your budget down to just food or grocery’s and eating out and take out? Let us share a way for you to save more money with your food cost even today!
5 ways to make bagged lunches cool.
1. Buy a lunch pale that fits your style.
Back to school is the time to buy the lunch pale. Well after back to school time, because many places are sell them at a discount. Kroger gives them away for 70% off…some ring up as cheap at $3!!
My lunch pale is a Purple Paisley hip-hop fun. My hubbys is green. Both of them fit our style.
Find one that is your style and on sale.
2. Breaking the bank on eating out is not cool, so that means packing lunch is! (right!!)
People can easily spend what they will eating out for one day for what they will buy for an entire weeks worth of packed lunches.
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3. Leaving love notes in your significant others lunch pale could lead for a taste dessert later. (If you know what I mean)
When leaving notes, it makes your money and marriage even stronger. You get to save money which is cool and you strengthen your relationship which is really cool, since MARRIAGE IS THE BEST!
Freebie ideas:
“I left you a special treat today, and I hope you know your as sweet as it is too.” (Drop in some hershey kisses or cookies)
On a Friday…”Date night? Will you go out with me just like old times since we saved so much money packing lunches this week!”
“You’re ham spanking handsome.” 😂
“You said my cooking was so good last night, I gave you the leftovers today.”
Write little inspirations…
“Smile. You are going to rock this day!”
“I love you to the moon and back! You are going to do something great today!”
“Share your smile with others today! You amaze me each and everyday!”
4. Time is precious.
Packing lunches saves you time to not have to wait in line at the store, fast food places, or sit down lunches. You can enjoy more of your lunch break and be thankful for all the good you are doing.
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Here are other posts to inspire you:
- 7 Lessons to Learn From 2020
- Take Advantage of your Employer Benefits
- 5 Ways to Be Thankful Where you are Financially
5. Saves your waist line
Impulse buying happens. Something fast such as a burgers and fries adds up in calories. Even the pizza from the deli or the “salad” from a restaurants can add up to over 500+ calories for lunch. Plus that soda for $2…why not save your waist line and your budget by following the 5th reason why packing your lunch is cool!
I was able to get my spouse on board with packing lunches daily because when we go through the spending tracker together and write down Kroger…$$$, Kroger…$$$, Kroger…$$$, Hardees…$$$, and so forth. I would investigate. Why did we spend this much at Kroger 5 times in a week? What was this? How did we spend this $$ amount? He would tell me I had to eat. I bought a soda, 2 slices of pizza, and a bag of chips. You know what I thought…holy cow we are spending $50- 70 on just lunches a week!
Before I was pregnant, I would eat a sandwich, piece of fruit, and bring 3 hershey kisses to kill the sweet tooth. Plus 2 waters and a snack such, as a granola bar or crackers. This would cost me about $15 a week for lunches.
Once I showed my husband the savings, he was bought into the bringing a pack lunch.
Eat at the office and fast food
$70 a week, $280 a month, $3,360 a year
Bring lunches from home
$15 a week, $60 a month, $720 a year
Savings…
$55 a week, $220 a month, $2,640 a year
Now this savings adds up! $2,640 and if it’s both you and your significant other bring lunch that can be doubled savings!!! Try it I bet you’ll be surprised and continue to do it!
My boss and I always brought our own lunches on Mondays. Now the entire team brings their own lunch and we all sit together and talk about life, hobbies, and things outside of work!
I think about how much money we have had them save by not hitting up Panera, Noodles, WaWa etc.
After successfully taking our bagged lunches to work, it was one way it helped us save up 100% for our baby fund – $10,000. It was hard work to say no to impulses like sleeping an extra 10 minutes, having friends ask you to go get something fast and convenient, but worth every penny and “no” answer.
Hope this post helps you find ways to cut cost in your food budget and save for something that is important to you and your life.
Much love,
The Maloney’s
Believe and Budget
Remember — you can do anything you put your mind to! It just starts with a why and for you to BELIEVE in you!
Like, if you love packing your lunch to save money.
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Traveling tips while paying debt
Traveling improves your health. It is important to travel when you are paying down debt. Meeting new people brings joy. Getting away from the hustle at home helps you relax. Technology is at our finger tips and having less of it helps us reconnect with our loved one’s.
Lets get into the traveling tips while paying debt off.
Tip 1. Budget for it.
Budgets don’t always have to be about putting 50- 75% of your income towards debt. A little secret…you will more than likely get burnt out because you feel like your not having any fun. It’s like placing all your eggs in one basket.
Go ahead and start a vacation fund. Put in 10% of your income into the vacation fund. Budget for a vacation. It is okay to do so especially if it makes you happy. Life is about enjoying the journey, but also not spending money like the Jones.
Subscribe for a budget freebie!
Tip 2. Travel close to where you live.
I bet you have not been to half of the tourist places close to your home town. Check them out.
Another tip is to google places to travel within a couple of hours of your hometown.
For example, we live in Virginia so we have traveled to places like the Shenandoah mountains, Washington DC, Virginia beach, and North Carolina just to name a few.
Tip 3. Enjoy the wilderness
This is a cheaper way to create memories with your friends and family plus usually you can find some education on the adventure. Learning on the adventure, whether it is historic landmarks, wild flowers, plants, animals, or odd rocks. Wilderness may not be for everyone, but it is way cheaper than going to an amusement park or shopping in a new town.
Tip 4. Alternative Overnight Stay.
Usually a hotel, in the city can get quite expensive. My friends and I have always split an airbnb or stayed at a friend of a friends house. These are reasonable options when staying overnight. If we cannot find anyone, we split a hotel but travel during the week. My husband and I recently travel a lot to enjoy the outdoors and as you guys know we live tiny. We pack up our “house” and stay at campgrounds. When my husband looks for places to stay, he loves state parks because they have all the same bells and whistles and are most of the time half the price.
Tip 5. Search Deals.
Deals can save money and help you explore the town you’re traveling. Even when traveling to Florida from Virginia, we search Groupon, Living Social, and other deal sites to get the experience of the town while saving. You can also do this with things like dinner. Happy hours are a huge money saving tactic for many!
Hope even though it’s back to school season, take these tips get started preplanning, and plan out your fall and winter travels for your health. To stay active, and happy!
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How to avoid the temptations of life when managing your money
This post may contain affiliate links, and they are no cost to you!
Ever feel the way that you want something so bad and just cannot wait to buy it? Or ever feel that your neighbor has everything you want from your kid doing some educational thing to the new car they bought or couch? Ever feel like life is just throwing everything at you and it is causing you off course of your goals? If this is yes for you, we have just what you need here!
1. Show your heart
Good people bring good things out of their heart. Give so much of your heart to someone. Try it one time and write down how it made you feel. It does not and should not have to deal with money. I want you to watch a friends’ kid for the day. I want you to make dinner for your family for the night and be happy doing it. I want you to shift and adjust throughout your life to show your heart at different stages in your life.
Maybe, if you are in high school it would be taking someone home after sports practice. Or if you are in college, helping someone prep for a test that they have to take. Or if you are in a relationship, maybe it is filling up their love tank. Or if you are married with or without kids, take your time to just be in the moment with the person take your phone out of your hand. Be present.
Find joy in the things around you. Show your loving heart.
2. Keep it simple
You have so much in your life. Look around you and see what stuff you have in your life. Maybe you have a closet full of clothes, a fridge full of food (well if its Sunday for most people), a house/place of shelter over your head full of items.
When you get inside your head and you feel all these temptations around you.
Remind yourself to keep it simple.
Other Articles you will enjoy:
- 102 Ideas for Money Goals to grow your networth
- 7 Reasons not to Limit your Giving
- Have You Been Through a Storm?
3. Rest
Resting is one of the best ways to avoid temptation as you are resting you can relax your mind and cause it not to drift off to things that you want more of. Life is a journey and it was created to have rest in it. If you do not feel at peace with something, I find myself always going back to resting and it renews my thoughts and gets me back on track.
Sometimes you just need to rest with God. Help you fill the gaps together.
Matthew 11:28-30
4. Make it a great day
Have you ever had a bad day, a bad day turn into a bad week, and a bad week turn into a bad year? Maybe that was your 2020? I hope not, but many say it was. Here is what our 2020 was like to help you learn from our lessons.
Temptations are so hard because one bad thing could ruin your whole day. The kids scream. Your spouse having a not so great day. You finding something horrible happen. You finding yet another bill. You finding a late fee on your bank account. The temptations that are around us are real and hard. But I promise you that if you make it a great day and just focus day by day to enjoy it. You will make it all better.
You will find that it is a great day when you can pay your bills, you can send an extra payment to debt or an extra amount to your investment or savings account. You will make it a great day when you reach that goal financially!
Another way to make it a great day is to look at the things that you already have. Do not go buying anything more. Think of all the things that once were new, but now they are not. It is a lot right? Let me tell you a secret to making your day great…
You have all you need, and realize that. You can make it a great day by enjoying and bring your energy boosters with you where ever you go. Give joy to someone else to make your day great too!
5. Turn off the TV or other electronics for the day
The television has so many ads that show us let’s buy now. The radio even does too! The radio car commercials say, “With zero down and interest free for 12 months, buy a new car!”
This is not avoiding temptations. Try to think about. They are trained in how to get you to say, “Yes, I deserve this car now.” But also think about Adam and Eve in the garden. They were tempted with the apple. God did not want them to eat that. So if we made it easier for ourselves by turning off the electronics.
It has even gotten so bad with the social media too. Avoid the temptations by turning off the electronics for the day.
6. Turn off the one click buy button and remove your credit card
Yes, the extra step will help you avoid the temptation to buy things. You will have to go to your purse or wallet and type in the numbers. This will help you to stay on track with your money.
We do this with our credit card. We keep all our cards in the cabinet and when we are planning on using the credit card we discuss the purchase and that way we as a family are on the same page. We also allow us to communicate to each other and say no if one of us do not think it is a good idea to go forward with a purchase.
This allows us to not make a quick bad decision.
We all have temptations around us, but how we avoid them is up to us. Whether you talk yourself out of it or you have someone else talk you out of it is a key step. Removing yourself from certain situations will also help you as well. If you show your heart, keep it simple, rest, make it a great day, turn off electronics, and the one click buy button you will help yourself to avoid the temptations and keep your money journey on track.
You can do it. These tips just help you along the way. Do not try to do them all at once, but one by one they will help. Cheers and remember we are small, but our God is big and he makes a way for us all!
If you have had a fell for temptation in this world, like this post.
If you want to avoid the temptations, like this post.
Pin this post to share with a friend, they can avoid the temptations around them in this world.
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How We Still Manage To Go Out to Eat and Stay Within Budget
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It is easy to go out to eat and blow the budget. I know, we have been there and done that! You say, we will just figure it out, and well the end of the month goes by and you do not close out your budget because your nervous to find out how much you actually spent on eating out. Once you try these tips though, you will help yourself from those moments of pain. It will take it away…well for the most part!
1. Fetch Rewards points
Try this app. I know another app it probably what you’re thinking. However, it helps us go out to eat and all we do is scan our receipts! We do not buy anything extra or anything! Points add up! We earn points and chose to go to BWW for a $25 giftcard, by scanning our receipts, and then we went during happy hour to get discounted drinks plus ½ apps. Our bill was a total of $18 bucks PLUS we left a $10 cash tip for the server! Let me tell you – believe it! It is AMAZING!
We will even give you our code, so you can earn $2 on us! Code: HFM23 aka (Holy Free Maloney 23)
2. Happy Hour
Yes, happy hour is still a thing even though the pandemic happened. This is one hack we learned in college, and still take it with us to this day. We look up happy hour deals on google to find places to eat. We live in a city, so finding happy hour is quite easy. I am sure it will be easier than you think! Rather than spending $50 on dinner, try it and spend $30!
Saves you $20 to go to another money goal!
3. Mailer Coupons
You get those coupons in the mail… do not throw them out. Keep them in your cabinet to use when you just do not feel like cooking.
Our favorite Mexican restaurant gives us mailer coupons and it keeps us coming back, but it also saves us money when we go out to eat. We usually spend $40 with two beverages and two meals, and so it cuts it down by atleast $7. Usually when we do get the discount we put it towards the server and bless them even more! So it doesn’t necessarily save us in the long run, but it is BLESSING someone else and that is the way to keep the giving going awhile still enjoying ourselves on a night out.
Other Articles you will enjoy:
- 10 Shopping Finds from our Minimal Lifestyle
- 5 Frugal Hacks on Places to Stay for Vacation
- 5 Steps to Keep you Going in a Middle of a Mess
4. Weekdays
Yes, everyone goes out during the weekend, but try this hack to save a little more and just get out of the house!
We love to go to Texas Roadhouse during the weekday because we both love a good steak, but do not want to necessarily pay the price of the steak on the weekend. When we go to Texas Roadhouse, we always go out to eat on Wednesday to get their $9.99 sirloin meal. Rather than spending $75 on a weekend, plus having to wait in the line. We call ahead on Wednesday, and spend only $50 with an extra good tip!
5. T-Mobile Tuesday
Yes, you will love this if your phone carrier is T-Mobile. Download their app and download their T-Mobile Tuesday app. They give out great deals on it for you!
I’ve gotten FREE coffee before for several weeks from them!
T-Mobile Tuesday always has good deals for restaurants that help us save money and allow us to get a deal on going out to eat! A couple of weeks ago, we got a deal on local pizza. We love pizza deals because this is how we do our budget nights and make it fun!
Hope you learned some great hacks for your going out to eat budget because believe me. We always have to enjoy our life that we have, and we can still reach out money goals!
Whether you are good at finding deals while going out to eat or you need to work on it, like the post to help out a friend. We all need some fun in our lives!
Pin the post, to share the fun tips!
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What is the importance of building an emergency fund?
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Everyone has their own experience with money, and I can only tell you from what I have actually experienced myself. I am going to tell you nice and loud that it is so important to have and build an emergency fund. If you take out of your emergency fund, build it back up. The storm will happen. It has happened to us. It has happened to our friends. It has happened to everyone because we are human. Let us tell you a secret you will be able to be safe and self-insured that you won’t have to get into more debt or get into debt at all.
Let us share with you some things in life that have happened in our live or someone we know and how an emergency fund has saved them in the middle of the storm.
1. Life Happens
Yes, life happens to us all. Why does it because we are human. We are here on earth to experience life. It does have storms. It does have seasons, and one of the seasons is winter. Winter is the hard season that you need to be like a bear or a squirrel and gather up money for. Just as in Genesis, Joseph advises Pharaoh to plan ahead for a disaster season.
Genesis 41:34-36
“Then Pharaoh should appoint administrators over the land and take one-fifth of all the produce of the land of Egypt during the sever years of abundance. During the good years that are coming, they should collect all such food and store the grain under Pharaoh’s control, protecting the food in the cities. This food will be reserved for the seven years of famine to follow in the land of Egypt so that the land wont be ravaged by the famine.”
That is why you have an emergency fund.
2. Car Repairs
Car repairs happen whether you have a new car or an old car. With a new car, you must keep your car updated with routine maintenance. Also, you will be paying a higher price on insurance to keep it. With an older car, you have things that break down and you will need to fix it.
I can remember my Chevy Cobalt. I ran that car to the ground. I got it my senior year of high school and was so proud of it. It was my first real purchase, and after several years. The A/C broke and yes I could have drove it without A/C and put the windows down. But in Nebraska when it is 100 degrees. you do not want to do that especially when you are going to a corporate job.
That is why you have an emergency fund.
3. Break Down
Anything you own can breakdown. Take it for example a computer. It might be necessary for you to have a computer that works for your income. You will need to get it repaired. It will need to be fixed sooner than later. If you are an entrepreneur, it will be way more important for a quick fix or a new purchase.
4. Financial Impacts
Maybe you or someone you know had a job loss. This hurts and this is a huge financial impact for you and your family. You never know when it could happen. I remember when I experienced a job change that was not my choice. It was the company’s decision to make a corporate change. I know someone who lost their job, and lost their home in 2008. It can happen and it can happen to anyone that is why we must be prepared.
That is why you have an emergency fund.
5. Health Scares
We know someone who had really bad diabetes and with that sometimes they have problems with their feet. Well this happened to this person. They did not expect for their foot to not heal, and kept having to leave work without pay and go back to the doctor time. The unexpected does happen with health.
That is why you have an emergency fund.
6. Accidents
My little sister was in an accident, and yes insurance did cover most of it. However, it was such a big accident and the person was not corporative and brought the lawsuit out longer and longer. Thankfully she was not hurt or anyone else was really hurt, but it was big enough that our lawyer suggested we pay them to have them leave us alone.
That is why you have an emergency fund.
7. Pets
Pets need care just like us humans do. I can remember when I gained two dogs in our marriage and they needed to see the vet due to an allergy. The one dog was breaking out and non-stop itching. She had made herself so raw that we needed to act. We ended up having to give her allergy shots that were expensive.
That is why you have an emergency fund.
8. Utilities Surges
New home? New apartment? You might be adjusting to the climate around you, and not realize how much A/C or heat your new place takes. I learned this the first winter in my fancy, but old apartment. My Utilities were so high I about dropped dead. I had to figure out how to cover my big windows to save heat and close the blinds more in the summer months to save my bill.
That is why you have an emergency fund.
9. Uncle Sam
I have not had uncle sam pay myself personally a visit, but I have heard through friends of horror stories that their tax bill is so high. They do taxes last minute because they owe uncle sam. If you have an extra money saved up though, when tax time comes around it doesn’t have to be that bad and wait until the last day to do taxes.
“…So pay everyone what you owe them. Pay the taxes you owe, pay the duties you are charged, give respect to those you should respect, and honor those you should honor.” Romans 13:6-7
That is why you have an emergency fund.
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10. Home Repairs
The refrigerator breaks or even better the laundry machines. I can remember when my mom had her laundry machines break down. With 3 girls, you need to consistently do laundry otherwise you get behind. They could not just have a quick fix for the machines because they were just old and needed to be replaced. They had to come up with a lot of money to be able to quickly replace the washer and dryer.
That is why you have an emergency fund.
11. Sick Family Members
Someone in your family could be sick, so you take more time to travel to see them or take more time off to go visit them. This takes money and time. Unfortunately, we have experienced this too and I know a lot of people who do and don’t expect to.
That is why you have an emergency fund.
12. Death in Family
My grandpa passed away while I was living in Richmond, VA, and my family lives in Nebraska. With my grandpa health not the best, I knew I could have to drop the hat and go home due to his passing. Well that moment happened for me, and I had to buy a $800 last minute airplane ticket home. Yes, it is not fun nor what you want to spend your money on, but it does happen.
That is why you have an emergency fund.
Like if you have an emergency fund.
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Pin to share with someone in your life who needs an emergency fund.
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5 Frugal Hacks On Places To Stay For Vacation!
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Think you cannot go on vacation while you’re paying debt? Believe it or not, you can travel and pay debt! Check out these 5 smart ways to save money while staying somewhere other than your house!
Traveling is always a great way to get out and enjoy life. The journey of life is short enough you need to see other places and experience the fun, while saving money. We are a frugal traveling family. We love to save money while experiencing life! Here are a few of our favorites when saving money when staying for a longer vacation on places to stay. Let us know what you do!
1. Glamp/Camp
This is a money saver and one that we do often. We grew up camping in tents, but when my husband and I wanted to move tiny we knew we would be “camping” everyday. That’s what most people tell us anyways. We even have one of our friend’s kid call our home “an adventure”. It is cute because he’s only 3. We glamp and live on a property for a cheap monthly rent! Amazing right! Let’s get right into how it can save you money going on trips.
Glamping or camping can save you money because most campsites are below $40 per night. Camping in a tent you can even do for free if you are backpacking. Backpacking is going for a hike and then setting up camp in the middle of your hike. My husband recommended me to get a new backpack because we are always going on hikes, and I am so thankful we placed it on our wishlist to get it. I do not recommend this with kids, but you never know you can be BOLD!
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Most national and state parks are rather frugal too. Check them out! Our favorite is Shenandoah National Park, which is $15 a night and they have 3 different campgrounds.
We love to take our home at these camps to enjoy trails, bike trails, water, and different nature. We can easily go early on a Thursday enjoy the park and then check in stay the night for $20-$40 and then enjoy the park again the next day. All we really pay for is the site and the gas to get there. This is a win, win!
Want to stay longer? Perfect – most campgrounds have a week long rate that is cheaper just ask!
2. Airbnb
This is a hot one and one we often did when I would go out with my girlfriends. Staying in an Airbnb is an opportunity to enjoy the real estate in the place you are traveling.
This saves you money because you can look for a cute and frugal places to stay. Yes, there are expensive Airbnbs too, but you have to search for a frugal one in your location that you want to go to. You should also be looking when it is off season.m
Airbnb’s also help you save money if you do a huge group of friends and rent a huge home. We have done this for a skiing trip in the mountains. We did not spend much because we shared the Airbnb and brought food to share as well to cook like a big family. You could be in charge of one dinner and one breakfast for a week vacation!
3. Travel with Friends/Family and Stay in a huge house
I mentioned this one a bit in the Airbnb’s, but I really mean it!
Make sure whoever is planning is a budget friendly person, and you should know who that is in your friend group. Traveling with friends and family helps cut the cost when you have a kitchen in a home because you go out to dinner less, which saves you money! A huge house is fun to be able to enjoy someone else’s home while being able to relax and enjoy a different location too! I mean if you have a view too – this is amazing!!
You do not get caught up in buying tourist stuff while staying in a hotel or a resort.
Other articles you will enjoy:
- How we got a FREE flight to go home with our credit card.
- 10 Road Tripping Hacks to Save Money!
- Budgeting got you down? Get positivity!
4. Ask friends who have homes in other states to stay with them for a few days
I love asking friends to stay with them and use their home while visiting. You get to catch up with a friend plus have them be your tour guide in a new state! I always say you should stay in touch with your friends in different states or who move to another state because you could do this travel hack to save money and still get to travel.
I remember when I left Raleigh, NC and wanted to go see my friend. We just stayed at her apartment and she actually went and stayed at her boyfriend at the time. We got to stay in an awesome part of the city! The experience for us was an added benefit, because we could walk to all the local brewery’s and local shops without having to pay the high price of a hotel in the area. The hotels in that area go for $150 a night! Yikes could you imagine spending around $700 just for lodging? People do it – don’t let it be you!
5. Network
Network with friends to see if they have friends who live in the State you want to travel to. This is also a great way to save on money! Friends often know friends who have vacation homes in warm states or a mountain town. You just have to ask around. I recommend bringing it up in a good conversation.
I have a friend who has a rental vacation home in Florida, which I would recommend for friends. However, be careful when you recommend for your friends and make sure they will treat the rental as their own and not a “rental” because you are recommending another friends property and do not want to ruin a friendship.
Happy saving money on your next vacation!
Enjoy these frugal tips and remember that you can still travel on a budget. We have traveled throughout our entire debt free journey. We budget our travel within our budget and never put it on a credit card if we do not have cash for it.
Want to use one of these tips on your next travel, pin it for a reminder.
Need a vacation other than a staycation, pin it
Will use one of these smart ways to travel next time, like it!
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Tips to Make Budgeting Easier!
Not a regular budgeter? Need a way to make budgeting easier? To be honest, whenever you have a big life change, start your first budget, or have a decrease in income it does take time to reconfigure your budget. It takes about 3 – 4 months to get comfortable, and that is okay! Yes, it is okay! I have been budgeting since I was in college when taking the Dave Ramsey class. Truthfully, it was the hardest to adjust when my husband and I got married, but it does get easier when you both know your why and you are on the same page.
- Distinguish your why!
If you write down your why it will make your budgeting easier month to month.
My personal reason why I budget is for God to manage his money the way he wants me to while we are here. He has chosen us!
Here is one bible verse that talks about money and it is a great eye opener on why we should make a budget. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, sayings, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.'” Luke 14: 28 – 30.
Download your bank app
Knowing how much money you have in your bank account anywhere you need to by downloading your bank app. I used to have a friend who said she never looked at her bank account. She was nervous to look at it because she did not know if it would be good to look at. Let me tell you, please know how much money you have. You do not have to be obsessed, but you need to know to not pay fees. Hello…saving money!! Do not fear your bank account and if you are, pray for your finances and for God to give you wisdom to handle your finances.
Automate
Automate your bills and savings. Each month you do not have to worry about these two categories! Your bills then can be managed by just viewing on a calendar. Subscribe to receive your free calendar. Then for your savings, you can adjust your savings each month by adding to them easily. I am person who loves to save usually I’ll add to savings right at the beginning of the month so I don’t spend it at starbucks or on clothes.
Ultimate Bullet Budget Journal
Buy the bullet budget journal. It allows for an easy month to month budget, because you can just copy and paste from month to month for your normal categories and add in your miscellaneous categories like St. Patties Day, taxes, annual insurance, or school day clothes.
Find a trend
Tracking your monthly expenses month to month in one place. You can do this with the bullet budget journal yearly over view. We are here to help you! We believe in you and know you can change your ways. I have helped so many and want to help you too! Reach out to us.
Write down your yearly expensives
The bullet budget journal will allow you to look back in the years to see what your yearly expenses are and now you won’t forget about them! I hate when I am budgeting and we have an eye appointment that we didn’t budget for. (This happened for us just last month! Yes, we make mistakes too.) $400 expense that was not in the budget, but that is because our annual eye appointment are usually in January but with the due date of the baby in January we pushed it back.
Products we recommend to make budgeting also easier that is free is mint.com. We love using this product on top of the bullet budget journal because it’s an easy snapshot for each week. It sends an update of your weekly spending each week! Isn’t that cool, so when your in a hurry. Rushing around to get to practice, work, or on a date night you can take a quick glace on your app.
Being able to find your why and remember it daily, downloading an app, automate your bills and savings, use the bullet budget journal, find a trend, and write down your yearly expenses will help make budgeting easier.
God is here for you and if you’ve stumbled across our page its problably for a reason. God had shown you our page for us to help you.
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Whether it is tiny living with a baby, budgeting to learn to save more/paying off debt, living your best life, and enjoying what God created us for! Life is just beginning!
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Make your budget easier by downloading the free budget calendar.
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